IN QUEST OF GOLD: The Jim Ryun Story

by Jim with Mike Phillips Ryun ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 1984

Ryun, one of this country's most celebrated middle-distance runners, was still in high school when he first ran a sub-4-minute mile. His exceptional running career went on to include world records in the half-mile, mile, and 1500-meters before a series of Olympic mishaps (difficulties with altitude in Mexico City, a fall in Munich), along with personal pressures, dragged him to a halt. Here, Ryun recounts his development as a runner: he began as a sophomore in high school--running was the only sport the awkward youth felt able to attempt, let alone excel in. After his unsuccessful tries for Olympic gold medals, Ryun competed in the fledgling professional International Track Association for the three years of its existence. But the big influence in his life by then was Christianity. As he tells it, ""when I was twenty-five, I died. The old Jim Ryun was put to death and Jesus began a new life within me. I began living not just physically but mentally and spiritually as well, living the way God meant for me to live."" Readers who followed Ryun's career closely (at his best, he was the object of rabid press attention) may be interested in this follow-up; but the real story here is religion, not running.

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1984

Categories: NONFICTION